Machine for handling fibrous material



June 30, 1931. A. H. oLsoN 1,812,412

MACHINE FOR HANDLING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed June 3. 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet. 1 4

June 30, 1931. A. H. oLsoN MACHINE FOR HANDLING F'IBROUSv MATERIAL Filed June 3. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 30, 1931. A. H. oLsoN lMACHINE FOR HANDLING FIBROUS MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 3, 1929 Ih Il.

Patented June 30, 1931 Unirse s'rA'rss PATENT OFFICE ALEX H. OLSON, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO DROLL PATENTS CORPORATION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE MACHINE FOR HANDLING FBROUS MATERIAL Application filed .Tune 3, 1929.

The invention relates to machines for han- (lling fibrous material.

Heretofore it has been common practice in the making of mattresses to deliver fibrous material, such as cotton, into the ticking with air under pressure after the fibrous material has passed through a condenser or separator to remove the dust therefrom. In delivering the material into the mattress with or by air under pressure, the residual dust or fine particles in the material accumulate on the inner surfaces of the ticking because the air under substantial pressure escapes through the fabric and'deposits the dust on the latter. This deposit is objectionable and necessitates beating of the mattress for its removal. i

One object of the present invention is to provide a machine by which the fibrous materia-1 will be discharged into the ticking with little or no air pressure, so that any residual dust or the fine particles will remain distributed in the fibrous materiahand will not be accumulated and depositedon the inner faces of the ticking;

`- Another object of the invention is to provide an improved machine into which the material is delivered by air Linder pressure which will separate the dust from the fibrous material and separately discharge the fibrous material and the air with the dust.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved machine'for separating dust from fibrous material, in which the material is positively forced through the casing and' discharged separately from the air and dust.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages and characteristics of the present construction will be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed de- Y scription.

Serial No. 368,035.

eral views: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4 4 of F ig. 1.

The machine which forms the Subj ect matter of the invention is adapted to deliver fibrous material such as cotton into mattresses and comprises a casing which is composed of complementary side frames or heads 5 and 6. The latter are rigidly secured together by a transverse bar 7 which is secured to the inner faces of said heads and tie rods 8 and 9. In addition to the heads the casing comprises a circumferential shell 15, which extends between and is secured to said heads. This casing is supported by angle bars 10 and 11, to which the heads 5 and 6 are secured by bolts 12. These bars 10 and 11 are rigidly secured to a suitable frame-work 14. -A pipe 16 is connected to receive the fibrous material from a blower (not shown). The latter operates to deliver the fibrous material into the casing through branch ducts 16El and inlets 17. These inlets are connected to the heads 5 and 6 and communicate with the inside of the casing through openings 18. By utilizing the branches and ducts, the material is delivered into both ends of the casing.

The fibrous material entering the casing is positively conveyed through the casing by a series of rotatable blades 19 which are secured respectively to pairs of arms 20 Which are pivote-d on a stationary shaft Q1. These blades are rotatable by and radially slidable in a drum 22. The latter is composed of a head 22a which is journalled on an inwardly extending bearing flange 23; a. head 22"', which has a hub 22 ournalled in a bearing 24 formed on the casing head 6; and a series of segmental plates 22d which are secured by bolts 25 to said heads and extend between the blades 19 respectively. The ends of these plates are spaced apart to permit the blades 19 to slide between them, and packing strips Q6 are secured in the margins of the plates 22d to form a tight closure between the plates 22d and the blades 19, which will prevent the fibrous material and air from passing inwardly through the drum. The drum 22 rotates about an aXiswhich is eccentric with respect to the shaft 21, around which the blades 19 rotate, which causes the blades 19 to project from the drum at the side of the casing in which the fibrous material enters and'positively "force the v.fibrous material around the drum tothedischarge side of the casing where the blades will be withdrawn to release the fibreus materialand permit it to be dischargedlthrouglifanl opening 26 inthe casing. Shaft 21 is fired-ly vheld in a lug 21aM which is formed o-n head inside of bearing flange 23. .A collar 21b is secured to shaft 21 to hold the arms 2O and blades 19 against aXi-al ino-vei ment in the casing. A segmental screen 27,

preferably formed of perforated sheet metal, extendsV around the inlet Vside of the casing and is` concentriclwith the shaft 21, so that the outer'ends ,of the blades 19 will sweep the inner periphery of the screen and prevent the accumulation .of `fibrous material or dust on t-he screen. A'lhisscreen coacts with the rotary blades and drum to'convey the. fibrousr'material ,positively around theinlet side of the casing and also permits the air which conveys the yfibrous material into the casing and the dust expelled Afrom the material'by the air, Y

t'o escape through thescreen'thus se )aratinc l CJ 3 ZD the air and dust from the fibrous material as it is conveyed te, and before it reaches, the discharge 26. YAn outlet pipe 28 for the air and dust is connected to an. outlet 29 formed in the lower.y portion ofthe casing. A segmental baiiie extends across the casing, and extends substantially throughout the receiv ingside. of the casing. rl`his baffle is spaced from the screen so the air and dust passing lAt the discharge opening '2.3 of casing,

through the portion of the screen adjacent inl-ets 18 will be directed downwardly to the outlet 29. The upper end of the baliie terminates adjacent the upper-end ofthe screen, and is turned downwardly, as at 31, to a point close Vto the screen 27 to form' a. constricted outlet 31a for the air and dust which pass through the upper portion of the'. screen. This restricted outlet will lproduce a suflicientiystrong current. or draft inside of the baffle to 'carry the dust away fromtheupper portion of the screen=andpreveiit it from 'becoming clogged.l By extending the baffle to' that end of the screen which is' remote from the point at which the outlet 29 is located, the

air in the material and the movement of the material by the blades will keep the upper portion ofthe screen open, and vprevent the accumulation'of dust. The. portion 31 of the casing extends aro-und and is spaced fro-m the baille 30 to form a duct 32 through which air and dust from Athe constricted Aopening 31au vwill passto theoutlet 29 and thence into the outlet pipe` 28. Y

la two-way spout 33 is secured to the casing.

- Eac-h'of 'the legs'of this spout vis adapted for connection tothe-ticking 34 of Va mattress to be filled. A valve 35 is pivoted in the spout 33 so the fibrous material may be discharged through either of the legs, so that the machine may be continuously operated, one ticking being attac-hed to one of the legs, while another ticking attached Vto the other leg is being filled. A door 36 is hinged to the cas'- ing at 37 to permit access to the discharge side thereof. VA door 38 is Yalso' hinged to the casing adjacent the air and dust'outlet 29 to provide access to the casing.

A valve or damper 40 is provided in the air outlet pipe 28 so thatV the escape of air and dust may bey regulated, particularly when the air and dust are to be conducted to a suction blower or dust collector. The druni 22 is driven by means of a pulley 41 which is fixed to a shaft 42 which is secured in the huby of the head22". Openings 43 lare form-ed in the casing head 6, and an opening 44, covered by a screen 45, is formed in the casinghead 5, and openings are alsoformed in the heads 22a and 22b of the druni'22, so that no air pressure will be developed inthe drum by the rotation of the blades 19 and drum. The peripheries of the drum heads 2-2a and'22b lit annular'shoulders 46'and 47 .on the heads 5 and 6 of the casing to confine the fibrous material and airtolthe casing and around the drum. A door'48 is provided on the lower side ofthe inlet pipe'l16 to 'provide' access to with clamping devices 50 of anysuitable and well-known. construction, which are adapted to secure the ticking Yonthe legs in'pc'sition to receive fibrous material'dischar'ged from the casing. j i Y The operation of the machine will be as ioilews: .Fibrous material, carried by a blast lcf air from a blower, will be forced through pipe 16, anddelivered with the air through openings 18 intoboth ends ofthe casing at that side of the casing where the blades 19 project vfrom the drum, and at which the segK mental screen 27 islocated. The fibrous material will be confinedv betweenthe .screen and the periphery of the drum, and blades :'19 will positively force the material past the screen tothe discharge side where the fibrous inaterial will he conveyed betweenl the casing and the drum tothe discharge spout 33.'V The'air which carries the material into the casing, being under pressure, Vwill lseparate the dust from the fibrous material and escape with the dust through the screen 27 into the duct 32a between the baflie 30 and the screen. Theair and dust, which leaves the fibrous material adjacent the inlet openings 18, will pass through the screen and thence downwardly around the lower'e'nd of baflie 30 through outlet 29 into the discharge pipe 40. j rIhe fibrous material at the inlet side ofthe'casingpasses between the screen'and the drum and past the upper end of the screen into 'the discharge side .-g suiicient ing, and to the outlet 29 and outlet pipe 28.

As the iibrous material is carried beyond the screen 27, substantially all of the air and free dust will have been separated therefrom. The` blades 19 will progressively force the fibrous material between the drum and the casing at the discharge side thereof so it will be deliveredk into the discharge spout 36 with substantially no air under pressure. As a result, the fibrous material will be discharged -into the ticking without sufficient air' pressure to causethe residual dust in the iibrous material to be separated from the mass in the -casing so itcwill not collect on the inner faces of the ticking as the .air escapes through the ticking. The damper 40 may be set to reguf late the escape of air and dust, more particu f larly when the pipe 28 is connected to the suction side of a dust collector so that the suction will be insuiiicient to draw the fibrous material through the screen and into the outlet pipe. f

The invention exemplifies a machine for handling fibrous material for delivery into receptacles, such as mattress tickings, which receives brous material kin suspension in a blast of air under pressure, in ywhich the air and dust are separated from the ibrous material, and the latter is delivered into the receptacle without sufiicient air pressure to cause theresidual dust to accumulate on the inner faces of the ticking.

The invention alsor exemplifies a machine for handling iibrous material which may be operated for a long period without becoming clogged with dust or small fibres, the rotary blades serving to sweep the screen, and [Y air Current being developed throughoutthe area of the screen to prevent the accumulation of dust on any portion thereof; also a machine of this character which is simple in construction and efficient in operation. y

` The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modiiied Within the scope of the appended claims, withoutV departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: y

1. In a machine of the character described, the vcombination of a casing provided with anv outlet, means for delivering fibrous material with air under pressure into the casing,

means for positively conveying the ibrous material through the casing' and positively discharging it from the casing through said outlet, and means for separating air from the material in transit to the outlet.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing provided with an outlet, means Jfor delivering fibrous material with air under pressure into the casing, rotary means for positively conveying the fibrous material through the casing and positively discharging it from the casing through said outlet, and means for separating air from the material in transit to the outlet.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing provided with an outlet, means for delivering fibrous material with air un-der pressure into the casing, means for positively conveying the iibrous material through the casing to said outlet, said last mentioned means comprising a rotatable drum and a plurality of blades extending through and movable relatively to the drum, and means for separating air from the material while the material is being conveyed through the casing by the blades.

il. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing comprising a pair of end walls and a continuous shell between the walls and provided with an outlet, means for delivering fibrous material with air under pressure into the casing through the end walls, rotary means for positively conveying the iibrous material through the casing and positively discharging it from the casing through said outlet, and means for separating the air from the material before the latter reaches the outlet.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing provi-ded with a discharge, means for delivering fibrous material with air under pressure into the casing, aA rotary drum in the casing, blades rotated by and movable relatively to the drum, for positively conveying the fibrous material through the casing and forcibly ejecting it through said discharge, means through which air and dust will pass while the material is being conveyed by the blades, and means forming a separate outlet for the air and dust.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing provided with a discharge, means for delivering ibrous material with air under pressure into the casing, a rotary drum in the casing, blades rotated by and sli'dable in the drum, for positively conveying the fibrous material through the casing and forcibly ejecting it through said discharge, a screen through which air and dust will pass while it is being conveyed by the blades, and means forming a separate outlet for the air and dust passing through the screen.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing provided with an outlet, means for delivering fibrous material with air under pressure into the casing, a rotary drum in the casing, blades rotated by coacting with the blades and through which the air and dust Will pass, and an outlet for discharging the air and dust from the screen separately from the brous material.

17. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a' casing provided with inlets at one side and with an outlet at the other side7 means for delivering fibrous material With air under pressure to said inlets, rotary blades for positively conveying the fibrous material through the casing and from said inlets to and from said outlet, a segmental screen coacting with the blades and through Which the air and dust Will pass, and means for separately discharging the air and dust.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 27th day of May, 1929.

ALEX H. OLSON. 

